Latest Mobile Gaming Sensation 2048 Is Actually A Fraud?

2048 and another game called 1024 have allegedly plagiarized a game called 'Threes'!

Even as avid gamers are lately being wooed into some number frenzy, that is no less addictive than the bird that flapped into our hearts and minds sometime ago here comes a news that is more likely to shatter the hearts of many. We know 2048 is the new game round the bend, and how it's giving players countless sleepless nights courtesy some very addictive number crunching. Now, the creator of the game has been accused of plagiarism.

Creators of another game 'Threes' have come have alleged in ablog post that 2048 and another game called 1024 have blatantly plagiarized them. “we’re not shy about calling a clone a clone, and believe us, there’s no shortage of straight-up clones out there, especially on Android. But it’s the not-really-clone sort of games, the rip-offs, that have popped up that have our feelings puzzled. We know how to deal with a clone, and likely, so do you.” wrote Threes creators. 

The game 'Threes' available for both Android and iOS involves matching numbers around multiples of three. “First, it started on iOS with a game called 1024 released 21 days after Threes (27 February). It’s different, but not. The sliding is there, the doubling of cards, the merging, even the art is extremely similar. There are differences. New cards spawn all over the place. Swiping up, down, left or right moves the cards the full distance possible. There are “stones” in the grid that never move. This last feature was likely a choice the developer made based on the fact that the game was too easy. It’s not very fun.” added Threes' team.

Threes has been accused of being a clone of 2048, however developers have a different story to tell. “We want to celebrate iteration on our ideas and ideas in general. It’s great. 2048 is a simpler, easier form of Threes that is worth investigation, but piling on top of us right when the majority of Threes players haven’t had time to understand all we’ve done with our game’s system and why we took 14 months to make it, well, that makes us sad,” they wrote.

Built by 19-year old Italian programmer Gabriele Cirulli, the Candy-Crush synonymous game 2048 is as addictive and frustrating as the much loved Flappy Bird. One doesn't necessarily have to be an arithmatic genius to play 2048. Simply use the arrow keys across the screen to move tiles. When tiles with the same numbers touch, they merge into one tile and add the numbers. Players have to create a 2048 tile in order to win the game. 

6 Free eBooks On C++ Game Programming

Learn how to create graphics And video games in C++

C++ is indeed the industry's standard language in game programming especially because it is an object oriented and mid-level language that compiles to binary. Also because it is fast and uses less memory. So if you are planning to jump into the world of C++ game programming, then here we bring 6 free ebooks to help you through.

1. wxWidgets tutorial

by Jan Bodnar - ZetCode , 2007

The book is wxWidgets tutorial for the C++ programming language. wxWidgets is a cross platform toolkit or framework for creating C++ GUI applications. After reading the book, you will be able to program non trivial wxWidgets applications.

2. C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4

by Jasmin Blanchette, Mark Summerfield - Prentice Hall , 2008

this book reveals today's best Qt programming patterns with realistic examples and in-depth advice. It covers everything from implementing model/view architecture to using Qt 4.3's improved graphics support.

3. Beginning C++ Through Game Programming

by Michael Dawson - Course Technology PTR , 2010

If you're ready to jump into the world of programming for games, Beginning C++ Through Game Programming will provide you with a solid foundation in the game programming language of the professionals.

4. Learning to Draw Basic Graphics in C++

by Michael Morrison - InformIT , 2004

Learn how to use C++ code to create basic animated graphics in this chapter from Beginning Game Programming by Michael Morrison. Practical lesson based on C++ programming, the basics of drawing graphics using the Windows Graphics Device Interface.

5. C++ GUI Programming with Qt 3

by Jasmin Blanchette, Mark Summerfield - Prentice Hall PTR , 2004

The book teaches solid Qt programming practices and covers everything one need to know to build industrial-strength applications with Qt 3.2.x and C++ on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux/Unix, and embedded Linux with no source code changes.

6. Cross-Platform GUI Programming with wxWidgets

by Julian Smart, Kevin Hock, Stefan Csomor - Prentice Hall PTR , 2005

wxWidgets is a free C++ API for writing GUI applications. This book is the best way for beginning developers to learn wxWidgets programming in C++. It is a must-have for programmers thinking of using wxWidgets and those already using it. 

Sony Prefers A Disc Free Gaming Future

                                     PLAYSTATION 4

While the Xbox One will allow lending of a game disc once to someone who’s been on a Live friends list for at least 30 days, Sony has no restrictions in place and no new online checks as well. So they want more disc sales? Maybe not. It appears like Sony is envisioning a future for their PS4 in which gamers will prefer downloading games than going for discs.

Sony’s head of worldwide studios, Shuhei Yoshida says, “The things we want to see change [is to have] more people embrace the digital side and have more people connect“.

Sony will continue to release its big titles for download on the day the game discs hit stores. But people certainly won’t choose hours of downloading over a half an hour ride to the store, right? Sony already has the answer to that: PlayGo, a service that will let gamers play a game that’s being downloaded.

John Koller, PlayStation v.p. of hardware marketing, says, “We’re very bullish on digital. One of the things we noticed through the progression of building the PlayStation 4 and now that we’ve announced it, is that immediacy is a big problem in this industry. Digital is really harmed by that. The difference between an eight hour download and a 15-minute drive to retail—retail is winning that every time. Physical gaming will proliferate as long as that continues. Solving that with PlayGo, which gives you a chunk of the [currently downloading] game you can start playing while the rest is buffered in the background, is a big win for the digital side of the business. I think digital will grow a lot more rapidly as a result of that particular point”.

The PS4 and Xbox One have 500GB harddrives which will be useful for gamers who are more interested in downloading games. But then there’s the question about DRM. Both Microsoft and Sony haven’t announced any plans regarding used digital games, though the former has talked about a family-sharing rule.

Sony’s plans of course could be to make bigger profit by dealing with gamers directly and avoiding game stores. But it also appears like they are simply trying to keep ahead of the times. At a time when games are available on mobile devices with just a touch, Sony believes that users of their new console will be wishing for faster access to titles.

Koller says, “There’s 220 million Americans who game. Many of them game on tablets and mobile. When you play a game on tablet or mobile, you may not be playing the deep, rich immersive games you play on console, but you are immediately accessing that content. There’s not a lot of lag. So we looked at that. And, as we talked to gamers who were starting to say, ‘You know I love console gaming but tablets and mobile are engaging my time,’ we realized that as an industry we need to solve that. PlayGo was born of that. We said, ‘We need to make it easier for people to get into digital content, so that people don’t have to wait around‘”.